Why I Blog...Sometimes I Just want to Chat.

Sometimes I just want to chat and what better place to do that then this blog? It's been such a busy month.  My house was on a historical home tour at the end of June so I spent time working on finishing projects and cleaning my home.  I am OCD in general, but knowing that people would be walking through our home critiquing it made me go into overdrive a bit.  My house is clean and many projects are done.  I got positive feedback and enjoyed chatting with people who love houses as much as I do. 



Four days later I had my first booth at our town festival.  I sold my refurbished furniture and signs made from reclaimed wood and treasures I had picked up along the way.  I was sooooo nervous.  What if no one liked what I was selling?  Why am I selling this stuff anyway?  When people asked how I got into doing this I was honest when I said I have always been doing it, but lately have found that my own projects on my home are winding down and I asked my husband if we could sell our house and buy a new "old" one so that  have projects again.  He laughed at me (he had the gall to actually laugh!) and told me that we were not moving and that I should find some other way to get creative.  If I kept all of the things I refurbished or built I would not have room to walk in my home.  And I truly just love doing it.  I get excited when someone asks me to help them choose colors for their rooms.  My family and friends have been getting my input on their homes for years.  I often wish that had I known in college that home decorating, furniture, reorganizing, refurbishing, and anything to do with houses would make get me as excited as it does, I would have chosen a different career path.  Don't get me wrong...I love my career.  It is a great job and I never think about leaving it, but I also find that to be happy I need to keep my mind and my hands busy and this stuff makes me want to stay up late and get up early.  So why not do both? 



I know that most people probably won't even read these words and they want to look at pictures of pretty things, so I am also going to show you my dining room.  This room has had few changes since I painted it and made the curtains 11 years ago when we moved in.  The curtain fabric is Ralph Lauren and I found it on eBay.  We use the room occasionally to eat in, but most often it is a multipurpose room where I paint a piece of furniture or work on a project or set up my sewing machine.

This is a DIY bench from an old coffee table I purchased for a $1 and old cushion from an outdoor sofa that was falling apart.  I won't admit to being a hoarder ;)

I purchased this china cabinet from the newspaper for $75 about 15 years ago.  A coat of paint and new hardware and it matches my table and chairs perfectly.

My mom had this print in her attic.  She was going to sell it in a rummage sale and I took it because it reminds me of the road to my grandparent's camp on Lake Superior -- such great memories.

I hide all of our winter hats, gloves and scarves in this dresser.  Again -- an old piece found at the thrift store and painted to match the dining room.

This print is by Cavallini & Company.  I made the "frame" for it using two pieces of trim, attaching them together with two cabinet knobs and sandwiching the print in between the trim before I tightened it.  I used thick rope to hang it.  Rustic and easy.

This picture just gives a better idea of how all of my rooms are connected. My design philosophy is based on all rooms flowing into the next.  Each room should have at least one color that connects it to the next room. 

BEFORE: I moved these shades to other lamps and painted shades the barrel shades black.  They were starting to yellow and look very dirty.

AFTER: The sprayed painted shades.  I think they turned out well :)

This is a close up of the berries I have on the chandelier...just a little added charm.